Heavy Snow — Haines Borough and Klukwan, Alaska

2023-12-23 · Haines Borough and Klukwan, Alaska

Event narrative

Spotter south of Haines on the Chilkat Peninsula reported 6 inches of snow falling between 6-9am on the 23rd and another 5.5 inches by 3pm when it was changing to rain, for a storm total of 11.5 inches. In town, 16 inches were measured shortly after 4pm. A strong wind shift to the south with gusts of 25-40mph and a change to rain occurred, possibly resulting in a rock slide reported at 730pm by the Haines Police, which made the Haines Highway impassible at 15 mile.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracking toward south-central Alaska swept a front from south to north over the panhandle on the 23rd. This front brought heavy snow to the upper elevations of the Haines and Klondike Highways and high wind to the southern half of the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1153991. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.